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THE GEORGIAN TIMES: BURJANADZE’S TONE MAY SUGGEST PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS
The recent government reshuffle has once more proved that the ruling team is not as united as the president of Georgia and majority leaders want us to believe. The Chair of Parliament, Nino Burjanadze, publicly announced that she did not agree with the recent replacements. She advised the executive government to have more respect for the legislative body and carry out personnel replacements (at least in those bodies subordinate to parliament) after consultation with the parliament.
Why does the President ignore the Chair of Parliament?
According to the Georgian Constitution, the Chair of Parliament is the No 2 leader for the country. However, the members of opposition political parties as well as political experts declare that the first ranked leader does not care about the opinion of the Chair of Parliament regarding political processes, and staff replacements-- owing to the parliament majority having minimal influence of the Parliament Chair and just following the president’s every instruction. Kakha Kukava, MP, member of opposition faction Democratic Front, and one of the leaders of Conservative Party, states that the legislative body gained the function of a notary officer—approving the president’s and majority MPs’ wishes without any comments.
The categorical tone of Nino Burjanadze made some representatives of opposition and civil sector think that the Parliament Chair planned to move to the opposition. However, Levan Berdzenishvili, member of Republican Party and opposition faction Democratic Front, states that the announcement by the Parliament speaker was a late reaction and her move to the opposition is excluded.
In his interview with Georgian Times, a political analyst Ramaz Klimiashvili says that the Chair of Parliament protested against a concrete decision rather than the government reorganization. “Burjanadze was not against the new Ministers’ Cabinet. She focused on a single person- Lekso Aleksishvili. In accordance with the Constitution, the government replacement is beyond her competence and on this issue she would agree. Her statement concerned the candidate for NBG president. It was not surprising, as the National Bank of Georgia is a subordinate body to the Parliament. The processes simply were not coherent. That’s why the government reshuffle was carried out based on its previous plan,” says Ramaz Klimiashvili.
Paata Zakareishvili, a member of Republican Party and expert in politics and conflict issues, states that Nino Burjanadze’s sharp tone was not unexpected. However, despite her tone, she failed to protect the interests of her team and put forward the candidacy of Irakli Kovzanadze, head of Financial-Budgetary Committee on the post of NBG president.
“Burjanadze guessed that she was being ignored and avoided the decision-making process. It is clear that Burjanadze cannot meet challenges and faces certain problems. The Parliament Speaker cannot even protect the interests of her small political team. All this embarrasses her. Besides Burjanadze knows perfectly well that if someone wants her to sink, it is Saakashvili,” says Zakareishvili.
Is Burjanadze dangerous for Saakashvili?
A Georgian Times source—someone who occupied a top political post and is well versed on what is happening behind the scenes-- says that Burjanadze will be one of the most serious rivals for Saakashvili if she takes part in presidential elections. Her candidacy will be so serious that a second round of voting will be inevitable.
The anonymous source of Georgian Times does not dismiss the possibility that Burjanadze may really take part in presidential elections. The source states that the announcement made by Nino Burjanadze, regarding government reshuffle, could be considered the beginning of a pre-election campaign-- if this statement was a part of political game agreed beforehand.
The members of parliament opposition believe that Burjanadze would have joined the opposition long ago if it had not been for several things: the first thing is that she does not have a strong political team; the second is that the law enforcement possesses many secret materials about her family members, father, and husband.
Political expert Ramaz Klimiashvili also dismisses the possibility that Nino Burjanadze will participate in presidential elections or join the opposition.
“I don’t think that Burjanadze will take part in presidential elections. For this purpose she will need a political party and team. But whether or not she takes part in elections a second tour of voting will certainly be held, as opposition will have several candidates and the votes will be divided,” says Klimiashvili in his interview with Georgian Times.
Our anonymous source states that Nino Burjanadze still managed to strengthen her position notwithstanding president Saakashvili’s tries to ignore her and weaken her influence. The secret materials about her family members kept at the Prosecutor’s Office will be less effective in a struggle against Burjanadze.
According to this source, after the Rose Revolution, Nino Burjanadze actively worked to be a real political figure for OSCE, UN, EU and CoE. If she needs it, she may gain support from these organizations. Before the Rose Revolution she had no such opportunity.
As for the secret materials about her family members kept at the Prosecutor’s Office, the source of Georgian Times says that this will not be an intractable problem for the Parliament Speaker if she participates in presidential elections. The biggest punishment that the current head of Border Defense Department, Badri Bitsadze, Nino Burjanadze’s husband, could face will be his dismissal. His detention is as impossible as the arrest of Irakli Okruashvili. Otherwise, Saakashvili will have to admit that his government is corrupt and that corrupt people have been working in his government for years; he cannot possibly want that.
Nino Japaridze
“The Georgian Times”, September 17, 2007
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